1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus adapted to add a specific image for restricting processing such as copying, facsimile communication and data transmission, to input image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the image processing apparatus, there is performed processing such as receiving image data, and outputting the image data by copying, facsimile communication and data communication. When a specific image is detected from the input image data, the processing to be performed is restricted. This makes it possible to prevent unauthorized use of the image processing apparatus and to protect the image data.
The specific image is added when the image data are output. For example, when the image processing apparatus is instructed to print image data from an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, the image processing apparatus synthesizes the image data received from the information processing apparatus with the specific image, and prints out the synthesized image data.
A printer driver is installed in the information processing apparatus. The print instruction of image data is provided by the printer driver. The addition of the specific image is determined by the setting of the printer driver. When the driver is set so that the specific image is added, the setting is stored as a standard setting. In the subsequent processes, each time the information processing apparatus issues the instruction to print the image data, the image processing apparatus prints the image data by adding the specific image to the image data. A document added with the specific image is created.
In the case of copying the document added with the specific image representing regulation information of copy prohibition, the image processing apparatus reads the image data from the document, and prohibits the document from being copied at the time of detecting the specific image from the image data.
Meanwhile, if the specific image is automatically added at the time when the image data are printed, the document created in this manner cannot be copied. For example, when creating materials for distribution, the document cannot be copied, resulting in a problem that the user cannot create materials. The user who knows the setting about the specific image is able to cope with the problem by changing the setting of the printer driver. However, the user who does not know the setting is unable to change the setting and tries to create the document which is prohibited from being copied. Therefore, the user uses the image processing apparatus without changing the setting, and is troubled in a subsequent work process. This impairs the user's convenience.
Here, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-175027 describes that pictures and characters in image data are discriminated, and when there are many characters, a specific image is added. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-191994 describes that when printing is performed to a printed recording sheet, a specific image is not added. In this way, in the image processing apparatus, the specific image is selectively added so as to improve the user's convenience.
The specific image is to be added to image data including confidential information. However, it is not necessary to add the specific image to image data in which confidential information is not obviously included. In the case where the specific image is not added, if the printer driver of the information processing apparatus is set so as to add the specific image, it is necessary for the user to temporarily cancel the setting. This increases the burden of the user.
In this respect, according to the above described references, when a unique condition is satisfied, the specific image is not added so as to reduce the user's burden. However, in order to discriminate pictures and characters, it is necessary to preliminarily scan the document and to determine the ratio between the pictures and the characters. Also, before the printing, it is necessary to detect whether or not the recording sheet has already been printed. In this way, the above described methods are not efficient because a new process is added prior to the process for printing the image data.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and an information processing apparatus which, when performing processing of image data to which the specific image need not be added, are capable of efficiently performing the processing and preventing the specific image from being added.